The present invention relates in general to means for improving the accessibility of the faucets and associated faucet structure of a bathtub assembly.
It is often necessary to repair or replace the faucets and associated faucet structure of a bathtub assembly. Bathtubs have, in the past, been positioned so that the faucets and associated faucet structure are accessible from an access panel located in an adjacent room, closet or the like. However, such access panels are sometimes considered detrimental to the adjacent room, closet or the like and builders often omit the access panel in newly constructed homes, motels and the like. In such a case, repair or replacement of the faucets and associated faucet structure might require tile and/or other wall structure adjacent the faucets to be removed thus requiring an expensive repair to the wall structure once the faucets and/or associated faucet structure have been repaired or replaced.
A preliminary patentability search in class 137, subclass 360 and class 4, subclasses 191 and 192 disclosed the following patents: Tortorice, U.S. Pat. No. 2,824,312; Togni, U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,454; Searles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,622; Doumany, U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,624; Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,175; Morris, U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,196; and Petty, U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,355. None of the above patents disclose or suggest the present invention.